


Out the Window

by tonksremus



Series: 6 Queens + 7 Kids= 1 Family [1]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anne finds out about Thomas and it is not pretty, But it's fine!, Cathy Parr finally talks about her feelins, F/F, Family Drama, Misunderstandings, THEY'RE FINE!, and jfc she has a lot of them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:22:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27094981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonksremus/pseuds/tonksremus
Summary: A strange thing about Cathy, other than her sleeping habits and her perfect smile that makes Anne feel lightheaded, is how secretive she is about her life after Henry. She never discusses it. They’re months into rehearsal, weeks away from their premier, and they only know what she sings about in her song. Cathy loves to talk about modern-day discoveries and inventions, but as soon as their past lives are brought up she grows quiet.///Anne finds out about Thomas Seymour, not from Cathy, but a book that doesn't put Cathy in the best light. The famous Boleyn temper makes an appearance, and things will never be the same.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn/Catherine Parr, Catherine of Aragon/Jane Seymour
Series: 6 Queens + 7 Kids= 1 Family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977577
Comments: 6
Kudos: 76





	Out the Window

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is a prequel of sorts to my fic The Kids are Alright. I didn't want to completely ignore history, and let things be 'okie dokie' when it came to the 'Elizabeth and Cathy' situation. It was supposed to be a quick 2K story but here we are 7K words later. Regular Six themes of abuse apply to this, but nothing is described in full detail! Hope you enjoy!

They had all promised each other not to go looking into the past. Not when things were so new. If they wanted to live in the now, they needed to let go of past sins. They had all done things in their past lives they regretted, some more than others, and they knew that they were different people now. 

Anne had done so well sticking to that rule. No matter how she craved to know more about her darling Lizzie. But no, she wouldn’t buckle; she’d stay true to her fellow queens. 

And true she stayed until hearing a snippet of conversation in line at the coffee shop down the street. 

///

It was the beginning of the winter, and all of the businesses were rolling out their seasonal drinks. Anne bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited for her peppermint white hot chocolate with  _ only _ two shots of Espero. The oatmeal raisin cookies Cathy always craved after a writing sprint were already in her bag. It was hard to drag Cathy outside of the house even for Anne, who had some particular pull over ‘academic Cathy’ as the queens called it. Cathy had become obsessed with some space discovery the past week and had been holed up in her room during her free time. After much pouting and a rather low cut camisole that Anne  _ did not _ wear on purpose, Cathy had been lured out of her room for lunch that day. Anne’s pretty sure that the other woman hissed when she saw the sun, but she’ll take it as a win. And wins deserve cookies.

“Hands down my favorite Queen,” a woman says behind Anne. “The stable, intellectual the throne needed after years of madness.”

“I’ll give you that. Elizabeth the first is an icon in her own right.”

Anne can't help but smile and bounce a little faster. Her little Elizabeth had become an incredible woman. A woman who was smart as she was kind. A woman that was level-headed. A woman who--

"It’s a shame what that pratt Thomas Seymour did to her though. Just goes to show how shit men are. Preying on your wife’s stepdaughter? I would have murdered him. Not have this baby.”

What?

“Peppermint white hot chocolate. Two shots with nutmeg?” 

The door had already closed behind Anne. 

///

The large book she buys (promised to be the most accurate of its kind) only last Anne for about twelve hours. She had eaten dinner quickly and then holed herself away in her room. She ignores the other queens and Cathy when they go on a stroll before bed, claiming she has a headache. Later that night, when her eyes are puffy and she needs a shot of anything for her nerves, she finds a bottle of coconut water and a bottle of Advil. There’s no signature on it, but the poorly drawn smiley face lets her know it was Cathy who left the gift.  _ (Anne downs two shots instead of the one.) _

Cathy.

Before reading this book, Anne had a bad feeling that things were going to change. That  _ (her)  _ Cathy would change. Well,  _ (her)  _ Cathy wouldn’t change. But the past changes things; it throws a spotlight on actions that sometimes can’t be ignored in the present. 

Anne would never admit this out loud but she was jealous of the last queen. The queen that was able to know all of the children and shape them in some way. And next to that jealousy is something much scarier. Something that Anne didn’t even want to think about, which was nearly impossible when it seemed to rear its head every time Cathy appeared with ink stains on her face and hands. 

A strange thing about Cathy, other than her sleeping habits and her perfect smile that makes Anne feel lightheaded, is how secretive she is about her life after Henry. She never discusses it. They’re months into rehearsal, weeks away from their premier, and they only know what she sings about in her song. Cathy loves to talk about modern-day discoveries and inventions, but as soon as their past lives are brought up she grows quiet. 

Anne knows that Cleves knows something. The German had to. She had outlived them all. But Anne never asked. She didn’t dig. She stuck to the rules. Didn’t look back into the past. And look how that turned out?

The grandfather clock that Jane and Cathy coveted and bought at an antique show chimes. 

10 AM

Anne had read through the night. She’s been up for twenty-five hours. She should go to sleep. Take a nap. Sit on this information. Don’t do anything explosive. 

///

The book is in her right hand, so she slaps Cathy with her left. 

Anne wasn’t quite sure how she was going to confront Cathy. How do you hold a conversation with a person that, until hours ago, you trusted (loved  _ (love) _ ) and thought the world of?

Breakfast was over and the remnants of Jane’s delicious spread of food is in a container sitting at her usual place at the table. Cathy’s face had brightened up when Anne entered the room, “Anne! You missed breakfast, and Jane made your favorite. I made sure to save you some--”

That’s when Anne slaps her. The earnestness in Cathy’s voice had been what tipped her over. 

Cathy presses a hand to her cheek, “Anne?”

“How could you Cathy?” Anne spits out. Her eyes begin to water, and she prays to a God she’s not sure she believes in to give her the strength not to cry. She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry _ (now) _ .

“Anne, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did I do something wrong?” Cathy’s voice is small, so small that Anne can barely hear her. But that’s not enough to stop Anne.

With a mirthless laugh, Anne tosses the book at Cathy. Still, in shock Cathy isn’t able to catch the book before it tumbles to the floor. The sound of the massive, falling book must have traveled up the stairs. Anne can hear her fellow Queens doors opening. 

“You love to read so much. Tell me what that says, Catherine.” Anne bites out. Cathy keeps looking at her with wide eyes, and her hand still clutching her cheek. “Read it, Catherine” Anne slams her hand on the table.

Catalina enters the room first with Jane and Anne behind her. A little way back is Kat, who can tell by the energy in the kitchen that something irreversible is about to happen.

“What in the world is going on?” The first Queen asks as she tries to take in the scene. Tiny Anne glaring at a shaking, terrified Cathy. 

_ (And this is the moment Anne will look back on. The moment she had missed. The moment she should have known something bigger was at play. Cathy’s lithe frame is shaking. There’s a faraway look in her eyes. The same hollow eyes she sees after one of Kat’s nightmares. But she misses it. Anger clouding her eyes to the shattering that was about to take place.) _

Anne turns to face the other Queens, “Cathy has been keeping secrets.”

Jane, ever the peacemaker, steps forward, “Well, if it’s Cathy’s business--

“She let her husband, your brother Jane, touch my daughter. So I think it is my business.”

“Scheisse.”

Anne focuses on Anna, “You knew Anna? And you never said anything?”

“It’s not her fault,” Cathy croaks out, her throat tight, “I asked her not to say anything.”

“Oh, you’re so smart Parr. Always knowing what’s going to happen next.” Anne takes a step forward, ignoring Cathy curling into herself as she backs away, “But you must be an idiot to think I wouldn’t hate you for this.”

“Anne,” Catalina calls softly, begging her to pause but making no moves to stop her.

All of the Queens are frozen except for Anne, who was shaking in anger, and Cathy, who was backing away from Anne in fear. A fear she hadn’t felt in a lifetime.

“Say something! I just want you to explain!” Anne barks out as Cathy stumbles, her back now against the wall. She notices she’s crying as she takes the final step into Cathy’s personal space. “Tell me Cathy! How could you let this happen? To join in?”

The gasp behind her spurs Anne on. Her anger and pain increases. She knows that her fellow Queens understand where she’s coming from now; why her anger is justified.

Cathy’s mumbling now, so fast that Anne can barely hear her. The other Queens move closer to the fighting (was it a fight if only one was participating) friends.

Kat finally finds her voice to say something, “Anne, maybe you should back up and give Cathy some space?”

  
“After she gives me some answers.” Anne’s hand hits the wall near Cathy’s head. While she didn’t expect Cathy to give her the answers she was desperate for, she definitely didn’t expect what happened next. She couldn’t have guessed the other woman ( _ ‘your friend’ something in her mind reminds her as the fog of anger and violence within her begins to rescind)  _ would shriek. Or for her friend to slide down to the floor and cover her head. And she doesn’t expect the  _ Survivor _ to sob, “Thomas! Please, stop!” Before starting to cry loudly as her body shook.

Anne takes a step back, her hand still raised, and looks at the other Queens. Catalina and Jane both have wide eyes, the Leader and the Mother, not knowing what to do. Kat has put herself in a corner, scared of her cousin for the first time. And Anna looks sad; her face in a solemn mask that Anne doesn’t think fits her joyful friend.

The German steps past Anne and stoops to Cathy’s level, “Liebling, you’re safe now. It’s 2018. You are alive and healthy. He’s dead. You’re safe.” 

Cathy’s sobs grow louder.

Anne’s hand lowers, and a sense of dread fills her. The anger that had filled her seconds ago has turned into guilt that sits in her throat like a stone. “Cathy?”

Cathy shakes her head, mumbling, “I’m sorry,” repeatedly as she folds in on herself.

Anne takes a step towards her friend but stops when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks back to Catalina shaking her head, “Anna? How about you take Cathy to her room? Help her calm down.”

Anna whispers something to Cathy, but the other woman doesn’t seem capable of registering anyone talking to her. The German says louder, “Sorry Liebling,” and picks the distraught woman up. Unlike Kat’s instinct to fight when touched during a fit, Cathy goes limp, which is somehow worse. There’s no fight in her. She just stops crying altogether and closes her eyes, trying not to shake too hard. 

When Anna passes Anne, the woman wants to reach out to her friend and comfort her as Cathy had after all of Anne’s nightmares. She so badly wants to pull the woman into her and hold her tight. To scare away the other woman’s demons that were apparently named Thomas. But she watches, feet frozen to the ground, as Anna carries Cathy away with Kat scurrying behind them.

The arm on her shoulder squeezes again, “Let's get you something to drink love. Then we’ll get this all sorted out.”

Anne realizes now that she’s crying in honest now. Thick tears roll down her face, and she can’t find the effort to wipe them away. “Catalina, I didn’t mean to--

“I know love. Don’t worry, it’s going to be alright.” Catalina promises her before guiding Anne to the living room. But something told Anne that things wouldn’t be alright for a while, if ever.

///

The house is painfully silent. 

Over the months of living together, there’s never been a quiet moment when all of them were awake. Catalina always hummed while she ‘helped’ Jane with her baking treat of the day. Anna was always tinkering with a perfectly fine object, and Kat always came to Anna’s plea to help fix the broken now object. And Anne spent her days with the rustle of Cathy’s book somewhere not too far from her. They all orbited around each other. They were a family.

But that’s over. Gravity has shifted, and Anne feels like she’s been flung into space. Cold and alone. Droplets of blood stain her sweatshirt sleeves as she’s absentmindedly dug her nails into her palm. It’s a nervous habit from her past life that came with her.

Soft hands take her own and unclench them, “I would have done the same thing Anne. You can’t beat yourself up too badly.” Jane tells her, before dabbing at her shallow wounds with a napkin. “Now drink your tea love, it’ll help calm you down.”

“No you wouldn’t.” 

“Maybe I wouldn’t have slapped her, but--

Catalina walks into the room, stopping Jane from continuing.

Thank God.

“She’s asleep now,” Catalina lets out a loud sigh as she falls ungracefully onto the couch, “Once Kat can pull herself from Cathy’s grasp, they’ll be down.” The eldest Queen takes the coffee Jane offers and drinks half the cup in one gulp. She winces slightly as she puts the cup down.

No one makes coffee like Cathy. 

“I feel like a fucking monster.”

“Anne, none of that--

“It’s Cathy. I should have known that the book was leaving something out. That history had been forgotten. It’s--That’s my Cathy.” Anne chokes up, “I fucked up.”

Catalina extends her arms to lay on Anne’s knee, “You reacted like any parent would. Extreme, yes, Justified, yes. We’ll get to the bottom of this, and we’ll come out stronger because of it.”

The stairs creak and Anna and Kat appear soon after. Kat glances at Anne before subconsciously pressing herself into Anna.

“Anna, what do you know?” Catalina, blunt as ever, asks.

The German woman sits on the arm of the couch and sighs. She runs her hands through her short hair, “It really is Cathy’s story to tell.”

“I don’t think Cathy’s in a place to tell us anything.” Jane says, a small frown on her face, “And I would like to know what my brother has done.”

“Please Anna,” Anne whispers. 

Anna nods before taking a deep breath, “Mary and Elizabeth famously disagreed on everything. To the point where if one liked someone the other would detest them, just on principal. But Cathy was different, somehow. I didn’t know her all that well back then. But I was close with Mary, and Mary liked Cathy quite a lot.”

Catalina sat up a little straighter at the mention of her daughter, she hadn’t known her fellow Queen had been close to her Mary. It made sense in a way. They were around the same age, both bold for the time period, both hated the same man. Catalina does notice the way that Anna briefly glances at her before quickly looking away. But there’s no time to ask what Anna is hiding in regards to her daughter. She’ll have to save the enquiry for another time. 

“Cathy tried her best Anne, I swear to you.” Anna looks Anne in the eye, “Cathy loved Elizabeth like her own. From what I can remember Mary telling me, Cathay risked a lot to orchestrate Elizabeth’s freedom. Thomas wasn’t a great guy to either of them. He was furious at Cathy, and Mary was surprised she survived long enough to give birth the way Thomas was treating her. And then he locked Cathy away and… well, you all know the rest.”

The air grows heavier as the Queens remain silent.

“Elizabeth was distraught when she was made to leave. More so when Cathy died.” Anna frowns, uncomfortable with the memories and the intense attention, “Mary said she was inconsolable at the funeral. Poor thing blacked out, slept for days after.”

It takes a moment for Anne to realize she’s crying again. A long line of tears fall down her face, and she can’t find it in herself to wipe them away. She can’t even find the will to say anything. 

“And what of Thomas? Jane asks quietly, her fingers tearing apart a napkin in her lap. What about her brother? What justice did he face?

“Executed about a year later. Officially for attacking the Crown, an attack on Edward’s life.”

Catalina raises an eyebrow, “Officially?”

Anna shrugs, “I never-- I have no proof but… even though Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward weren’t close… Well, I think Mary and Edward planned something to frame Thomas. Everything lined up so well, and Thomas was as smart as he was cruel. I never found the nerve to ask Mary, but she and Edward both were quite smug after everything.”

The queens sit in silence for a moment.

“I fucked up.” Anne says as she wipes at her eyes, “Fuck!” She stands up, “She survived two abusive assholes just to--

“Hey, hey. You’re nothing like the two of them. They’re monsters Anne.”

“I attacked her. I slapped her and kept going when she clearly-- Fuck!” Anne kicks at a basket of blankets on the floor.

Kat yelps and steps behind Anna. Anne notices and freezes, “I-- I keep messing up today.”

Catalina stands and approaches Anne with open arms, “Come here, my little mi pequeña abejorro.”

Anne allows herself to fall into Catalina’s arms and cries in earnest. She cries for Elizabeth, who seemed to only know loss in her life. She cries for Cathy, who she fears may never trust her again. And she cries for herself, simply because everyone she ever loved seems to be hurt because of her actions.

///

It’s been hours since breakfast, and the queens still sat in the living room. Anne, tucked into Catalina’s side, falling in and out of restless sleep. Kat’s at her side, a hand on her knee as she played Animal Crossing with Jane.

_ (“You know you can’t ‘play’ Animal Crossing with someone. There’s nothing to do but walk around.” _

_ Kat had shrugged, “Yeah! But we're doing it together, and that’s all that matters to me!” _

_ Jane didn’t let go of Kat for the rest of the night.) _

There’s a floor shaking bang from upstairs that startles the Queens. A soft thudding follows that has Anne popping off the couch and running up the stairs.

“Cathy?” She says, frightened once again for her friend. Anne reaches Cathy’s door and knocks. No response. “Catherine?”

The others soon make it up the two landings and Anne turns them, “Should we go in?”

Catalina steps beside and knocks again, “Mi erizo dormido? I’m just going to pop in and check on you. Ok?” The older queen opens the door and sticks her head in, “Catherine?”

Catalina opens the door all of the way, allowing the Queens to see the empty room.

“She’s gone?” Jane asks, “But where--

Kat gasps as she shakily points to the open window with a trail of sheets hanging out of it.

“No way.”

///

It’s been two hours since the other queens had left to go look for Cathy. Anne had been left behind, tasked with waiting to see if Cathy came back home. But it went unsaid that Catalina thought Cathy might run if she saw Anne. 

Which is fair, Anne decided after a few moments into her anger. But in the moments filled with absolute outrage and fury, Anne doubted the queens knew Cathy well enough to find her. Did Catalina know to check the nook next to the library’s Transportation section because that was Cathy’s favorite place to read? And would Jane know to search the Orchestra pit at the theater? Of course not. Because no one understood Cathy the way Anne did. No one loved--

No. 

She wouldn’t go there.

Not now.

Not after the last few hours.

That’s when the anger had stopped. 

After everything, Anne knew she no longer deserved any part of Cathy Parr’s heart. 

Anne had worried, in her final moments, what would happen to her little Lizzy. Prayed that Jane would be kinder to Lizzy than Anne had been to Mary. To hear from Anna that Cathy had loved Lizzy as her own. That Lizzie has grieved Cathy. Well, there was no other way to explain it other than Anne felt like an absolute cunt.

She’s on her fourth bag of popcorn doused in sugar and cinnamon when the doorbell chimes. She shuffles to the door, a large metal bowl pressed to her chest like a shield, and sighs loudly before opening the door, “We’re not interested in--

Stops when she sees the shaking figure in the doorway.

Cathy stands dripping wet and shivering in front of her from the rain. Her lips a light blue, “May I come in?”

Anne blinks and tilts her head. May she come in? What kind of-- She yanks Cathy inside and presses her tight against her body, “Oh Cathy. Mon chéri.”

The metal bowl falls to the floor with a loud clang. Cathy’s wearied body grows tense, and she begins to pull away as if remembering why she had run away in the first place. Cathy’s hand reaches for the doorknob behind her.

“Anne--”

Anne’s hands form an iron grip around Cathy’s back, “Cathy, I’m sorry. Please don’t leave again. I’m sorry.” Anne says as she holds the other woman tighter.

Cathy’s never been fond of too much eye contact, and Anne respects that. Instead, she reaches for one of Cathy’s clammy hands and presses it against her cheek, “You’re freezing. Let’s get you warmed up? Please, I’m worried.”

“You still care?” Cathy whispers as she allows her cheek to fall onto Anne’s shoulder.

“Always mon chéri. Let’s get you out of these wet clothes.”

///

How did Anne even begin to fix this? She was no great emotional tactician. Anne couldn’t even think of a way to break the silence between them.

After a quick shower in Kat and Anna’s bathroom (no windows), Anne had brought Cathy to her room (small windows) and the two had sat in silence since. Anne’s playing with her choker as she watches Cathy try to brush through her hair. Try being the operative words. Cathy’s hands were still trembling, small thanks to the hours in the cold rain and a bigger thanks to her anxiety, and she couldn’t properly comb her curly hair. 

“I-- Do you want some help?” 

Cathy jumps as if she had forgotten there was someone with her. She looks back at Anne, her eyes glassy and red before opening her mouth to say something and then closing it. Anne knows her well enough to know when Cathy is in ‘a way’. Sometimes the other woman had a hard time speaking, being too overwhelmed and unable to do so. The queens had noticed early on and learned the signs to clue them in. Yes or no questions and soft voices tended to help Cathy in times like this. 

“Having a hard time speaking, yeah?”

Cathy nods before looking away and thrusting her hand with the comb out towards Anne. 

Anne slowly reaches for the comb and scoots closer to her friend. “Do you want to get on the bed with me?”

Cathy shakes her head as her hands begin to rub the carpet.

“Alright, love.”

Anne begins sectioning Cathy’s hair like Catalina showed her before combing out the tangles. She doesn’t know how long she goes on for, but at some point, Cathy’s stopped shaking and Anne has finished two braids in her hair. 

“Is it ok if I talk to you about this morning?”

Cathy tilts her head, her signature ‘I’m thinking’ pose, before hesitantly nodding.

“I’m sorry. I know I said earlier, and I know I’ll be saying for a long time. But I’m sorry Cathy.” Anne takes a deep breath, “I was wrong. To yell at you like that. To slap you. To scare you. It’s-- there aren’t words to express to you how wrong I was and how terribly sorry I feel.”

“You thought I hurt Lizzie,” Cathy whispers back. An excuse offered that Anne didn’t want to accept.

“That doesn’t make it right. I should have known there was more to the story. And even-- I could never hate you. I said it in the moment because I was scared. Scared that I didn’t know the Cathy I thought I did. But I could never hate you Cathy. And I hope that, maybe, one day you can forgive me, and hopefully not hate me too.” Anne’s nails are piercing into her skin again as she tries to blink away the tears. If Cathy didn’t hate her after all of this, she’d take it as a blessing from God. 

Cathy stands up, “No more talking. I want to sleep.”

“Oh. Ok.” Anne stands up from her bed as she watches Cathy crawl into it, “Yeah, alright. I’ll just wait for the others to--

“Sleep with me.” Cathy makes a grabby gesture towards Anne, her eyes already closed.

Sleepy Cathy was a clingy, monosyllable, cuddle monster. A privilege to witness. Only Catalina, Kat, and Anne had been kola’d by their resident night owl.

Anne looks towards the door and then back to Cathy. After everything Anne didn’t feel like she deserved the chance to comfort Cathy like this. She reminds herself that she deserves no part of Cathy Parr’s heart.

“Anne. Now.” Cathy whines.

Anne makes up her mind, “Anything you want Cathy.” She grabs her quilt on the floor and covers Cathy before getting into the bed herself. Cathy immediately latches onto her, nuzzling her face into Anne’s neck. 

“I was scared.” Cathy whispers into her neck

“I’m so sorry--

“That you would hate me. You said that you hated me. Thought you’d all leave me.”

Anne wraps her arms around Cathy, “I’ll never leave you Cathy. Or hate you.”

“I would. I do.” Cathy’s words slur together as sleep claims her, “I loved her. My Lizzie. Love you too” She falls asleep with her mouth slightly open and pressed against Anne’s throat.

Fuck.

Anne had dreamed a lot about the first time she’d hear Cathy say, ‘I love you’. A lot. Where it would be... What she’d be wearing... What they’d do after… She definitely didn’t imagine that it would happen in her bed, in a ratty set of sweats, holding a still cold to the touch Cathy.

But…

She’d take it.

Even if she deserved no part of Cathy Parr’s heart, it looks like she had it. And she wasn’t going to fuck it up. 

Again.

///

Anne wakes up to someone playing with her hair. She cracks open an eye to find Cathy nearly nose to nose with her.

“I feel better now.”

Anne nods used to Cathy’s direct way of explaining herself. The bookish woman liked to talk in facts. She liked things straightforward. Happy. Sad. Mad. Tired. And when things were too much, unexplainable-- well, earlier was a good example of the meltdown that could occur. 

“I want to explain myself.” Cathy reaches for Anne’s hand under the blankets, “I know I can be difficult to deal with--

“You’re perfect Cathy. Just perfect.” Anne reassures her as she scooches a little closer. Their noses are touching now, and in the back of her mind, she can’t help but wonder if it’s healthy for them to be moving so fast. They’d always been touchy, but this? This moment was charged with something that Anne doesn’t think she’s ever felt. 

Cathy laughs softly, “No. I’ve been secretive. Selfish. All of you have been so open about your lives, and I’ve just been hiding away. It’s not fair.”

“You don’t owe anyone a retelling of your trauma.” Anne squeezes Cathy’s hands, “I shouldn’t have pushed you earlier.”

“Earlier could have been avoided if I had just come clean. Just told you what happened, instead of waiting and waiting for the right moment.” Cathy shakes her head, “I just wanted you to like me so badly. It’s silly really.”

Anne does laugh, “Aww, did Cathy have a crush since the beginning?”

Cathy bites her lip and moves to look away from Anne, but finds herself in the position to either let her lips brush Anne’s or stay where she is. Instead, she sighs and closes her eyes. “You remind me so much of Lizzie. So much. From the way you walk to that mad scientist look in your eye when you spot something crazy to do. You’re the last piece of her that I have. The books and the portraits don't do her justice.”

“You really think so?” Anne whispers back. 

“For sure. The portraits are kind of--

“Not about the bloody portraits Cathy. Do you think that Lizzie and I-- well do you think we would have gotten along?”

Cathy smiles, a large grin on her face, “You two would have had a blast together. Lizzie was so smart. A little genius who was too impish for her own good. But she was so sweet and thoughtful. She wasn’t fond of writing poetry, like you, but she’d read it if she was in the right mood. The moment I saw you, I just knew that the Lord had blessed me again with a chance to spend my days with someone so much like Lizzie. I think she would be happy to know that we got along.”

Anne’s heart felt warm and full. To hear of her daughter from someone who actually knew her. Who loved her. It’s all that she wanted, “Thank you for loving my daughter. For protecting her the best you could. Anna told us some of what you went through, just a little to explain, and I can’t thank you enough.”

“It was simply impossible not to love Lizzie the first moment you met her.” Cathy takes a deep breath before whispering, “Just like her mother.”

The way that Cathy is looking up at Anne through her eyelashes, a slight reddish hue covering her cheeks, has Anne feeling like she could float to the ceiling. 

“Well aren’t you a sweet talker.”

Cathy shrugs, “I’ve been inspired.” 

All Anne has to do to kiss Cath is just tilt her head down a little. That’s all she has to do. But somehow, before she can there’s a knock on her door. The two women don’t have time to move before Catalina pokes her head in.

“Mis estrellitas? Dinner is ready--” She finally processes how close the two women are in bed and promptly closes the door, “Sorry! Eat when you want to! Dinner! Eat dinner, food, when you’re ready!” As the older, flustered queen walks away they can hear her mutter, “Oh my God. Is everyone in the family gay?”

Anne and Cathy laugh together, and it feels good. The day had been so horrible, and being able to laugh with each other helped drive the residing gloom away.

“You reckon Catalina’s finally realized that Jane wants to jump her bones?” Anne asks Cathy.

“God, I hope so. If we have to put up with anymore lovesick Jane during rehearsal I reckon we’ll never be audience ready.” Cathy sits up in the bed and stretches, “Jane looks like she’s either going to cry or faint whenever Catalina dances anywhere near her.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Anne puts an arm around Cathy’s waist, “We were definitely going to kiss before Ms. Oblivious walked in. And just because Jane isn’t getting any, doesn’t mean we should suffer the same fate.”

Cathy laughs again before completely getting out of the bed, “I’m hungry and want to get this out of the way. Not us kissing, very excited for that by the way, but my talk with the others. I need to apologize for--

“Jumping out of a window?”

“Climbing out of a window. And maybe I won’t get so overwhelmed about the past if I actually talk about it. And process it, instead of just pushing it into tiny boxes in my mind.”

Anne stands as well, “That sounds like a splendid idea, Cathy.”

Cathy reaches for Anne’s hand before walking them to the door, “And once I’ve probably had another good cry, I want to go to my room, with my girlfriend, and cuddle and kiss until we fall asleep. “

“You are the only person I know who can make a splendid idea somehow even better.”

///

Cathy talks for a long time that night. 

She takes them on the long journey of Catherine Parr. 

She tells them everything. How she learned to pick locks after being kidnapped by rebels during her second marriage. The surprising day that she received Henry’s proposal after only meeting him once in passing. She told in great length, to many laughs, the first Christmas she was able to convince Henry to have all of his children in the castle together.

(“Edward was eight at the time, bless his little heart, and just wanted to show his father that he could be just like him. But cruelty didn’t come naturally to him,” Cathy looks at Jane, “he got your heart, Jane. But he made the mistake of continuing to be flippant with Mary once Henry left. I’d never seen such a talking down to of a child. Mind you Mary had just spent the morning with her father calling her a bastard and bad-mouthing Catholicism. It was not the time to try her. Mary used her full height to tower over him and put the fear of God into him. At one point she picked him up and just shook him a little.”

“She shook him?!”

Cathy nods, “Just picked him up out of his chair and shook while she said something in Spanish I couldn’t translate fast enough.”

Catalina puts her head in hands laughing, “My little Mary never did well with people talking down to her, didn’t matter who it was.”

Anna laughs, “Ja, she told me this story once. She said she knew she’d only get once chance to do this to him, thanks to Cathy, and that she wasn’t going to let it pass.”

“Well, then Elizabeth pulls a knife out--

“A knife!” Anne shouts from beside her, “Why did she have a knife?”

Cathy pats Anne’s hand, “That’s what I asked too. Why did this, seemingly, sweet ten-year-old girl have a knife? I’ll always remember this, Elizabeth looks at the knife and then back to me and says ‘I thought I might need to stab someone today’ and then perfectly throws the knife between Mary and Edward.”

“My little Lizzie was a badass.” Anne smiles, “And a terror by the sound of it.”

“Oh, they were all terrors in their own way. Back to the story, poor Edward actually peed his pants. And then Elizabeth, as sharp as ever, called him the Pee Prince in every language she knew.” Cathy joins in laughing with the other queens, “He learned then that his sisters were not ones to aggravate.”)

She held Anne’s hand through the hardest parts. There’s a group hug once they learn that she was almost executed as well. And a lot of tears when she finally talks about Thomas. She tries to explain the abuse that she suffered in that year-long marriage but ends up stopping herself to say ‘something things just aren’t worth retelling’. At this point, Kat was sitting by her knees and quietly hums her agreement. 

( “With Elizabeth safe and gone, Thomas became more focused on me. When he found out I was still writing her he… well you can’t write with a broken hand can you?” Cathy swallows the lump in her throat before continuing, “But Lady Jane did me the great service of recording my last thoughts and hopefully getting them to the rest of my stepchildren.”

Jane passes a tissue to Anna, who passes it to Catalina, who gives it to Anne who cannot stop crying at this point.)

There is good about bringing this all out into the open. Cathy had always felt guilty. She had been a mother, or mentor for Mary, to all the kids at one point. Edward had only ever called her mother. And after a few short months of knowing each other Lizzie had followed suit. 

Cathy’s finally able to piece together the words to explain to the other mother’s how she felt. 

(“It’s stupid. I know,” Cathy says as she wipes her eyes with her sleeves, “But I still feel bad. You all deserved to be mothers. To be with them. And I feel like I stole that.”

Jane, who Cathy has never felt a special closeness to, is the one to respond first. She practically launches herself at Cathy and hugs her tight, “Every day I thank God that Edward had someone like you. Someone kind. Someone smart. Someone patient. I wish I could have been that person for him, but I’m glad you were there when I couldn’t be.”

Cathy hugs Jane back, and Anne joins in, “We couldn’t’ have asked for a better person.”

“And I’m sure Mary loved you as well,” Catalina tells her goddaughter.

Anna nods, “She did! Said that if anyone could even make her consider the, uh, the validity of the Protestants it would be Cathy! Which is the highest praise you could get from her. And she demanded to be Mae’s godmother, she wanted to keep the tradition.”

“Mae lived long enough to be baptized?” Cathy asks, her voice shaking. She searched every book and archive for any information on her daughter, but all signs pointed that she had died shortly after Cathy. 

“Lived long enough?” A look of realization crosses over Anna’s face, “Yeah Cath. She survived. After Thomas’s demise, Mary and the kids made sure she was taken care of. Little Mae was Elizabeth’s shadow, always beside her whenever I visited. She was a very bright and happy girl.”

There are more tears from Cathy. And promises from Anna to write down whatever she can remember in regards to Mary and the rest of the children.)

When everything is all out in the open Cathy is left feeling raw but also protected and well-loved by her new family. They had all ended up on the floor in a large cuddle pile. 

“Oh, Mija,” Catalina hesitates, “Are you sure that you want to sing your song? There is still time to make some changes. You shouldn’t have to sing about him every night.”

“It’s a better story.” 

Every queen voices her disapproval at such a callous statement.

“No, really. The survivor, the one who finally outlasted the king? She gets into another, somehow more abusive, relationship, and then dies a year later? That’s not a good story. Not a good ending. And I don’t want that to be my story anymore.”

“That’s fair,” Kat turns in Janes’s arms to face Cathy better, “But I’m still signing you up for therapy sessions starting next week.” Someone’s arm smacks Kat and the young girl frowns, “What she obviously needs it as much as I do. No offense, Cathy.”

“We should write a new song,” Jane suggests from her spot on the floor. “A song about where we would choose to be if given the chance. How we’d want history to remember us.”

“I think that’s a brilliant idea Jane.”

///

The night ends with long hugs and promises of more jam sessions to figure out the new song. 

Cathy pushes Anne on to her bed and falls on top of her, “So, we’ve already got the crying out of the way.”

Anne smiles as she brings her arms around Cathy’s waist, “And I drank those bottles of coconut water Jane threw at me for dehydration purposes.”

“I should thank Jane, I really do enjoy the taste of coconut,” Cathy smirks down at Anne.

“Personally,” Anne tugs Cathy down, “I believe that you should taste the product, you know before you leave a review.”

Cathy fully lowers herself onto Anne, and they finally kiss. 

It may not have been Anne’s first kiss, but it was her first kiss with someone she actually loved. The first kiss she actually felt something-- and it was absolutely heavenly. Cathy’s warm hands rest on her cheek and Anne leans into the touch, allowing herself to feel wrapped in Cathy’s warmth and love. 

Their second kiss is just as sweet, if not a touch more charged. Anne can taste Cathy’s blueberry chapstick and how it mixes with the taste of coconut in her mouth. Cathy’s firm grip on her makes Anne feel wanted and protected. Something she’s always yearned for and hadn’t gotten until this moment. 

They pull apart in synch. Eyes fluttering open, and sleepy grins forming on their faces. 

“I love you, Catherine Parr.” Anne says before rolling the two of them onto their sides. 

Cathy nuzzles Anne’s nose before whispering, “And I love you, Anne Boleyn.”

“Tell me a story about Lizzie?” Anne shyly asks.

“Of course,” Cathy grabs a blanket and pulls it over them before starting, “well like I mentioned before, Lizzie wasn’t a poet no matter how hard she tried. But Lady Jane Grey, who stayed with us as well, loved it. And Lizzie had a fixation on her of some sorts--

“Fixation?” Anne repeats, her eyes squinted.

Cathy laughs, “I think it was a crush personally, but anyway, Lizzie took to memorizing all the poetry she could get her hands on. And whenever Jane appeared Lizzie would just recite it, I honestly don’t believe those two had an actual conversation until a month of her living with us.”

“No!” Anne’s giggling now, “Well, how did Jane take it?”

“After I was able to find a shared interest between the two of them it became easier, they became nearly inseparable. They were both obsessed with the night sky. Stars, planets, everything. I would have to fuss at them whenever it was a clear night. They would sneak onto the roof and stargaze, or look for meteor showers.” 

“Sounds romantic.” Anne teases, “Maybe Lizzie had a way with the ladies, even back then.”

“If you count freezing for hours while two teenagers made up stories about the stars romantic then maybe.” Cathy bites at her lower lips, “I was going to ask, before all of this happened, if you would want to go watch a meteor shower with me. I promise no freezing will be involved. Just us, a couple of blankets, and the Orionids meteor shower. Apparently, it’s been occurring for centuries, so maybe it’s something that Lizzie--

Anne can recognize a Parr ramble from a mile away and interrupts her, “It’ll be a little like Lizzie is there with us. I love it.”

Cathy blinks owlishly as if she thought such a thoughtful idea would go over poorly, “Oh, great. Next Wednesday it is then.”

Anne gives her a soft kiss, “Next Wednesday.”

There’s a moment of silence between the two of them.

“I really want to kiss you more, but I’m quite tired,” Cathy tells Anne, a small frown on her face. “Can we go to sleep now, and kiss more when we wake up?”

Anne chuckles as she nods her head in agreement, “That sounds perfect.” She untangles herself from Cathy to turn off the main lights in the room and plug in the nightlight that Cathy kept just for her. Anne crawls under the covers and is immediately back in Cathy’s arms. Cathy’s face pressed into her neck, and her leg thrown over Anne’s waist. 

It had been a whirlwind of a day, and in no way could Anne ever imagine it would end with Cathy reciprocating her love. Anne presses a kiss to Cathy’s curly hair before closing her eyes. “Love you Cathy.”

“Love you Anne.”

The two fall asleep with smiles on their face. Both dreaming of a gangly teenager with a gleam in her eye, and a cooing baby in her arms. 

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, it's a happy ending! And Cathy def needs to go to therapy. I hope to finish the next chapter for the Kids are Alright this week! Let me know if you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Mi pequeña abejorro: My little bumblebee  
> Mi erizo dormido: My sleepy hedgehog  
> Mon chéri: My darling  
> Mis estrellitas: My little stars


End file.
